American audiences will get a glimpse of what life was like for The Beatles in the group's early years when Iain Softley and Stephen Jeffreys' Backbeat arrives at the Ahmanson Theatre, to run January 20 – March 1. Five-time Tony nominee David Leveaux, who helmed the show's premiere in London, will once again direct.

Based on the 1994 movie of the same name, Backbeat revolves around a series of performances that the group, comprised of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Pete Best (the drummer before Ringo Starr) and Stuart Sutcliffe (the band's original bassist), gave in the red light district of Hamburg in 1960. The show is studded with rock ‘n' roll classics including "Money," "Long Tall Sally," "Twist and Shout," "Good Golly Miss Molly," "Please Mr. Postman," and "Rock ‘n' Roll Music," among others.

Leveaux received Tony Award nominations for his direction of Jumpers, Nine, The Real Thing, Anna Christie, and A Moon for the Misbegotten. Among his other credits in his native U.K. are Electra, The Distance from Here, No Man's Land, and Betrayal.

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